Tag Archives: ilona andrews

Description: In the latest Kate Daniels novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews, magic is coming and going in waves in post-Shift Atlanta—and each crest leaves danger in its wake…

After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Curran misses the constant challenges of leading the shapeshifters.

So when the Pack offers him its stake in the Mercenary Guild, Curran seizes the opportunity—too bad the Guild wants nothing to do with him and Kate. Luckily, as a veteran merc, Kate can take over any of the Guild’s unfinished jobs in order to bring in money and build their reputation. But what Kate and Curran don’t realize is that the odd jobs they’ve been working are all connected.

An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece…

Review: I’ve been a fan of Kate Daniels and Curran for about 4 years now. Every summer, as soon as the new book is released, I race to the bookstore and buy it. After the events in the last Kate Daniels book, Magic Breaks, I was especially excited for this book. I wanted a sense of normality and hopefully more one-on-one series with Kate and Curran. This book delivered.

Magic Breaks introduced a new arc in the Kate Daniels story, one which focused less on the Pack and more on Kate, her power and the mysterious Roland and Magic Shifts follows up with that. We are eased away from the Pack, though familiar characters do show up, such as Raphael and Andrea, Dali and Jim, etc. And the subplot of the book focus on Kate and Curran finding Eduardo, the were-bison. Eduardo and George, Mahon’s daughter, are now a couple and victims of Mahon’s crazy rules. Side-note, I’m really getting sick of Mahon and was glad that he was taken down a peg in this book. As usual, this book was intense on mythology, delving into Arabian and Islamic myths for the creatures Kate and her gang to face.

As much as I loved Kate and Andrea running Cutting Edge, I love Curran and Kate working together even more. This book shows their relationship becoming more developed and stronger. The challenges they face are ones they face together, united. Their family, with Julie, has become cemented and centered. I especially like that Kate had discarded her whole ‘loving people means weakness and losing them’ philosophy. She has abandoned the brainwashing of her adopted father, which turned her into a killing machine whose only purpose was to one day kill Roland. Instead, she puts her skills to good use to defend her family and has realized that loving people only makes her stronger.

However, trouble, in the form of Roland, is clearly on the horizon. I really liked seeing more into the character of Roland. For so long in the series, he was the distance villain, the abstract father that Kate knew she would have to kill. However, now that he is introduced and interacting with Kate and her family, he is even more complex and intriguing. I definitely like the arc the plot is on and can’t wait for the next book!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they post a new Top Ten list and everyone is welcome to join. This week’s theme is”Top Ten Books That Would Be On Your Syllabus If You Taught Romance Novels 101″

I thought about going with The Flame and the Flower but I never actually got through that book. Skye O’Malley, I did read, and can serve as both a representative for old school bodice ripper romances and as a contrast to the evolution of romance novels over the last 20 years.

Hi all! I’ve been tagged by Shivalika at Whimsy Journals to do The BedTime Book Tag! This is my first book tag and I’m really excited to participate!

A Book That Kept You Up All Night ReadingStyxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I adore this book and every time I read it, I end up staying up all night.

A Book That Made You Scared To Sleep

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

This first time I read this book, I was 13 and ended staying up all night, partly convinced there was a crazy woman in the attic.

A Book That Made You Go To Sleep

Religion and the Rise of Capitalism by R.H. Tawney.

I had to read this book for a graduate class and honestly, I didn’t get further than the first chapter. The book just put me to sleep.

A Book That Left You Tossing and Turning All Night in Anticipation of its Release

Born of Fury by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I adore any Sherrilyn Kenyon book but I was really looking forward to Dancer Hauk’s book!

A Book That Has Your Dream Boyfriend

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

I love Colin Bridgerton. That is all.

A Book That Would Be Your Worst Nightmare to Live In

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

I love Kate Daniels and Curran but I would not want to live in their world.

A Book That Had a Nightmarish Cliffhanger

Confessions of A Little Black Gown by Elizabeth Boyle

This book didn’t actually have a cliffhanger for the main couple but it set a cliffhanger up for the couple in the next book, Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress. I spent a horrible month waiting for the next book to come out.

A Book That You Actually Dreamed About

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

I once had a dream where Jamie Fraser and I were doing Scottish Reels (the dances! Get your minds out of the gutter!) The sad part is he was wearing pants and not a kilt 😦